Game On Olympic Warm Up Weekend Basketball - the 02 Centre played host to the Four Nations Basketball competition that annouces the 02 Centre as the Olympic Venue and home court for the Great Britain team. Great Britain, Turkey, Poland and Israel will play a series of games 14-16 August.
This was expected to be a close match, with the volume of the Turkish fans rivalling the home crowd, passions were bound run wild. Team GB were still a side without key players due to injury, while Turkey having just witnessed Israel beat Poland, knew this was an opportunity to go top of the tables.
Team GB got off to a flying start, defending superbly and fouls and points at the Turkish hoop. The Turkish fans rose the volume but the Turkish team didn't seem able to rise to the challenge. Quarter one ended with a two point lead for Team GB but this could have been more. Turkey really woke up in quarter two and chased every point, Team GB rose their game again and kept hold of a three point lead by half-time.
The intesity grew through quarter three with the scores leveling, the fans were now roaring. A technical foul against Turkey enflamed their bench and the lead coach Tanjvevic Bogdan left his bench to remonstrate with the referees and recieved his own technical foul and was ordered off the court, this ended with the assistant coach also recieving a technical foul. Team GB had three sets of free throws awarded which were accompanied with the dissaproval of the Turkish fans. Passions were now in full flow and it wasn't long before an incident under Team GB's hoop brought players off the bench in a scuffle which was quickly dispersed but could have escalated.
Turkey now had a fire in their bellies and pushed Team GB, keeping check throughout quarter three, it eneded with the scores matched. Quater four saw Team GB's first signs of faltering, in desperation to gain a lead, fouls were repeatedly made in defense, giving Turkey plenty of chances to get their own lead at the free throw line. Turnovers under the Turkish hoop added to the desparation and made quarter four a different ball game to the rest of the match. Turkey, with fans in full roar, took the game with an end score that didn't tell of the full match.
Turkey : 70
Great Britain : 63
